About five months before my heart dog, Snickers, passed away, I arranged to adopt Ronon. He was one and a half years old and living in Alabama. I hoped to bring him to Philly before Snick died.
After spending about six weeks at a vet in Alabama—getting checked, dewormed, and neutered—Ronon was transported to Indiana for what was supposed to be a very temporary foster stay. The goal was to evaluate his temperament and make sure he could safely live with Snickers.
Well. He turned out to be SUCH A HANDFUL (busting out of crates, jumping fences, and being generally unmanageable) that it was immediately clear he couldn’t live with a frail, senior dog.
When Snick died in September 2021, Ronon was still in Indiana. By then, I’d decided I couldn’t handle having another dog so soon. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I couldn’t find anyone else to adopt Ronon. So in October, he came to Philly.
When I brought Ronon home, he had never lived indoors, let alone in an urban apartment. He was terrified of everything, completely untrained, and out of control. We weren’t communicating. He had no reason to trust me, and I had no idea how to reach him. We were both miserable.
I almost gave up more than once.
But thanks to the support of friends and family, I kept going. Slowly at first, and then more quickly, Ronon and I learned to understand each other and live together. Training became our bridge to trust and communication. We attended class after class together, each one helping us take another step forward.
Less than two years later, Ronon and I became a certified therapy dog team. He’s also earned the AKC Novice Trick Dog title, the Community Canine (CGCA) title, and his DCAT. Now, with over 50 therapy dog visits completed, he regularly visits a school, a branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, a youth shelter, and the Philadelphia International Airport.
He’s also an excellent travel companion, and he makes me laugh every day.
I’m incredibly grateful that I didn’t give up on him, and forever thankful to everyone who helped us along the way.
I originally created this website to share tales from Ronon’s adoption and training journey, but now that he’s achieved so much, I’m shifting focus. These days, I want to use this space to answer the questions people ask when we’re out and about—about Ronon’s journey, therapy dog work, training, and life with a rescue dog who once seemed “too much.”